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The Vegetation, as might he expected from the climate and
the geological features of the peninsula, is generally poor, hut the
flora is unusually rich for so northern a region. About 25,75S
Engl. sq. M. are covered with forest, chiefly pines, the wood of
which is valuable owing to the closeness of the rings which mark
its annual growth. Next in point of frequency are the oak, the
birch, the elm, and the beech. Other trees occur frequently, but
not in the forests. The beech , which suffers more from cold than
the oak, but does not require so high a mean temperature, rarely
occurs in Sweden N. of Kalmar, while the oak is found as far N.
as Gefle. In Norway, on the other hand, the beech extends to a
point beyond Bergen, and the red beech even occurs at
Thrond-hjem. Near Laurvig, in latitude 59-591 2° the beech is found in
considerable plantations. ■— The apple-tree (Pyrus mulus) occurs
as far as 65° 10’ N. lat., the plum (Prunus domestica) up to 64°,
and the cherry to 66°, while currants (Ribes nigrum and rubrum),
gooseberries (Ribes grossuluria), strawberries (Fragaria vesca),
raspberries (Rubus idaeus), and the common bilberry (Vaccinium
myrtillus) occur as far north as the North Cape.
Wheat is cultivated as far as Gi1^0, and in the S. of the country
to a height of 1000-1250 ft. above the sea; Rye grows as far N. as
09°, and in the S. up to a height of 1950 ft. ; Barley and Oats
occur up to 70°, and in the S. to a height of 2050 ft. above the
sea. Botanists are referred to the instructive works of Schuebeler
and Axel Blytt. — The cultivated land in Norway occupies the
insignificant area of 1074 Engl. sq. M.J but in Sweden 10,078 sq.
M. In the northern regions the Oxyria remiformis, a kind of sorrel,
is largely cultivated as a substitute for corn. It is kept in a frozen
condition in winter and boiled down to a pulp for use, being
frequently mixed with flour and made into Fladbred. In the S.
districts, however, the ‘flat bread’ is usually made of wheat or
barley flour mixed with mashed potatoes, and sometimes with
pease-meal. The Lapps mix their bread with reindeer-milk and
sometimes with the bitter Mulgedium alpinum, which is believed
to be a preventive of scurvy.
It is a curious fact that barley takes exactly the same time
f90 days’) to ripen at Alten (70° N. lat.] as at Christiania and in
the S. of France, but it is now generally believed that the great
length of the Arctic days compensates for the lack of warmth. The
seed, however, if brought from a warmer climate, requires to be
acclimatised, and does not yield a good crop until after two or three
seasons, so that the effects of a bad harvest are felt for several
succeeding years.
The traveller will also observe that the leaves of most of the
trees which occur in the northern districts of Norway are larger
than those of trees of the same kind in the southern regions. Thus
the leaves of maples and plane-trees (Acer platanoides and pseudo-
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